Center for Health Education and Promotion recognized by PA State Athletic Conference

Millersville University's Elsie S. Shenk Center for Health Education and Promotion has been recognized by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference as part of its inaugural class of L.P. Hill Unity in Sports Award honorees.

The award honors the contributions of an individual or group on each member campus that, through intercollegiate athletics, epitomizes the promise of Unity, Equity and Access for All. Each of the Conference's 17 members nominated a group or individuals from its campus who has made an impact in promoting these values on their campus through athletics.

Millersville's Center for Health Education and Promotion is directed by Margo Thorwart '17, who was an All-American field hockey player and PSAC Tournament MVP at Millersville. Thorwart and the Center have been valuable to teams, providing resources and education from alcohol and drugs to relationships.

"The Center for Health and Education Promotion under the director of Margo supports the development of not only our student-athletes but the entire student community at Millersville," said Director of Athletics Kate Corcoran. "Their work educates our student-athletes on decision making around wellness and mental health."

The award is named after Leslie Pinckney Hill, the first president of Cheyney State Teacher's College. From 1913 to 1950, he was the principal of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia and oversaw its establishment as Cheyney State Teachers College. The Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard-educated son of a former slave taught at Tuskegee Institute and was a renowned educator, writer, poet and community leader. In 1927, a year after the first documents that created the Pennsylvania State Normal School Athletic Association were drafted, Hill argued for the inclusion of Cheyney in the Association's bylaws.